Recognize the odor that seems to follow Herb Sendek around these days?
It's that new-car smell.
With the paint just dry on its glittery new home and a stellar recruiting class in the fold, Sendek's N.C. State squad is restless to write the next chapter in the Wolfpack's storied basketball tradition.
"I don't think necessarily it is a new era," Sendek said. "I don't know that the players and coaches wake up every day and say, 'I'm going to start a new era today.' You're much more present-minded-you put on your socks and shorts and go about your business.
"But there is a real air of excitement."
Raleigh's new Entertainment and Sports Arena, a 19,722-seat, $158-million Goliath of a gym, seems a lot farther than the 10-minute drive from historic Reynolds Coliseum, the Pack's home for the last 50 years.
In 1975, Reynolds was renovated completely at a cost of $366,000. By comparison, the Jumbotron and auxiliary scoreboards in the new arena cost $5 million.
But all the bells and whistles of Sendek's new digs couldn't have him nearly as excited as the promise of beginning a season with one of the ACC's deepest and most experienced rosters.
"We are certainly a more experienced team than we have been," said Sendek, who lost no seniors from his 19-14 squad of a year ago.
The Pack returns eight lettermen from a team that felt the sting of the NCAA Selection Committee's decision to invite just three ACC teams to the Big Dance.
"I think in each of [my] three years, we have made steady progress and gained momentum," said Sendek, 53-44 since his arrival in Raleigh. "In each of those three years, for different reasons, our teams have felt a sense of achievement.
"I guess a certain part of me really resists the notion that things can be boiled down so simply, that if you do make the NCAA tournament, you somehow have arrived, whereas if you don't, you can't have a sense of worth. I think it's more complicated than that."
For the first time, Sendek might not have to worry about such things. His battle-tested frontline of Damon Thornton, Ron Kelley and a bulked-up Kenny Inge should have a weight lifted off its shoulders by a new-look backcourt.
Highly touted Damien Wilkins, the 6-foot-6 son of former NBA player Gerald Wilkins, and Milwaukee product Marshall Williams give the Pack a pair of athletic freshmen on the wings.
And senior point guard Justin Gainey will receive help from newcomer Clifford Crawford of Winston-Salem, the third of State's three top-50 recruits.
"[Wilkins] brings a tremendous level of character to our team," Sendek said. "He's a consummate gentleman off the court. On the court he's a talented and team-centered young man."
But the most important new face might be an old one. Archie Miller, State's fiery 5-9 sparkplug, has fully recovered from the back surgery that forced him to take a medical redshirt in 1998-99.
Second in the conference in three-point percentage as a freshman, Miller is a favorite of Sendek and Wolfpack fans alike.
"He's obviously a terrific shooter," Sendek said. "But the day he went out you could tell the wind was blowing in a different direction, because he has such a charisma and an aura that contributes to the mentality of our entire team."
Miller's return gives the Pack a pure shooter to replace Adam Harrington, who transferred after leading the Pack in scoring as a freshman (11.6 ppg). And the scrappy fan favorite will do his best to ensure that the cavernous new arena sounds more like the old one than another experiment in expansion, the clinical-feeling Dean Smith Center.
Sendek knows Reynolds will be missed, but he's too thrilled with his new digs to waste time pondering days gone by.
"I think we've been careful to take time to pause to reflect and to remember Reynolds Coliseum over the past year," Sendek said. "A great deal of emotion was centered on Reynolds for the better part of a year. Now there's an equal amount of anticipation building for this event."
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